


Pokemon: A Marvelous Journey, Johto Arc

by Juliko



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Animal Abuse, Autism, Coming of Age, Cute Kids, Dysfunctional Family, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Issues, Fantasy, Female-Centric, Friendship, Gen, Harm to Animals, Heartwarming, Major Original Character(s), Original Character(s), Original Universe, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, POV Female Character, POV Original Character, Pokemon Fanfiction, Pokemon Journey, Pokemon References, Pokemon Training, Realistic Pokemon AU, Team, Team Bonding, Tearjerker, autistic main character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-12
Updated: 2016-03-12
Packaged: 2018-05-26 07:48:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6229882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juliko/pseuds/Juliko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young girl, Julia Parisa, is excited to have a Pokemon of her very own. She's always loved Pokemon because they understand her more than her peers do. But when her rebellious, troubled older sister Amara throws her family in upheaval through stealing a Pokemon and running away from home, Julia decides to go after her sister and bring her to justice and make sure she doesn't hurt Pokemon like she did in the past. But the journey may give her much more than she bargained for, both good and bad. New friends, enemies, and adventures abound, can Julia handle what the world throws at her, or will everything be too much to handle?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Surprise Friend

New Bark Town. An odd name for a town, yes, but a small town a few miles east of the bigger and prettier Cherrygrove City, it was considered a quaint, peaceful, quiet little community known for the fresh fir trees that would grow all throughout the year, which many would use for Christmas trees. It wasn’t big like other cities by any stretch. Any stores it had were relatively small and didn’t exactly have a variety of brand name goods. Mostly small places and family run businesses. In fact, most people referred to it as a town, not a city, as it didn’t have skyscrapers or anything like that. It didn’t even have its own school. Any kids who lived in New Bark Town either went to the school in Cherrygrove or the one in Violet City depending on how many students the former school could accommodate.

New Bark Town was small, and the residents liked it that way. While it did get caught up in the wave of industrialization that drowned most of the Johto region in the past decades, paved roads and modern technology and the like, the communities still managed to stay together and do what they always did. Even so, New Bark Town stood out as a town that seemed to be one with nature, boasting lush trees, gardens with flowers in abundance, reds, blues, whites, and purples dotting the fields, and grass grew tall and wild, unrestrained, making it stand as a monument to nature. It helped that many of the native pokemon there were relatively tame and easy to domesticate.

For those not in the know, Pokemon, also known as Pocket Monsters (No, they don’t fit in your pocket if that’s what you’re thinking), are basically the animals of this world. Unlike regular animals, they are far more intelligent, more so than most humans give them credit for, capable of understanding human speech. They come in all shapes, sizes, and elements. Some can be as small as an eraser, while others are as big as giant cruise ships, maybe even bigger. There are many pokemon in this world, with over 700 confirmed species worldwide, with possibly more undiscovered species lurking around. Whether it be soaring the vast blue skies, digging deep in the earth’s mantle and crust, frolicking in the grassy terrain, leaping in the thick jungles, and even in the endless cosmos of stars itself, space, pokemon are everywhere, and humans rely on them for many things. For some, pokemon are pets. Others pit them against other pokemon in non-lethal, completely safe battles as long as they obeyed battle regulations. There are people who make careers out of battling others and helping train pokemon. Tragically, there are also those who use them for crimes, ranging from petty crimes to horrific and downright unspeakable crimes. Basically, pokemon and humans alike dominated the world, and both species have coexisted for thousands of years.

In terms of raising pokemon, one couple was known almost all throughout their neighborhood for doing just that, and in great numbers. Neatly tucked away on a meadow was an average, middle class house painted yellow crowned with a white roof, with a six-foot wooden fence circling almost an entire acre of land in the back, housing many pokemon, some large, some small. Some reddish orange flower pots decorated the front porch, giving it a warm, welcoming atmosphere. A dark blue mailbox stood tall near the front door, with the word Parisa on the front written in white.

On a warm, sun-kissed morning in tiny New Bark Town, a young girl sat on her bed, a heavy book in hand, her dark brown bangs dangling over her forehead. Green eyes flickered across the pages as she read, _"The Beginner's Guide To Raising Pokemon"_ written across its cover. It was a book every trainer needed, explaining the qualities needed to tend and train to their pokemon friends. 

Sitting on her white book shelf, a pikachu shaped clock read 8:20 AM. 

"Bliss-ee!" 

The girl's head snapped up, hair falling into her face as she started at the white and pink pokemon's unnoticed entry. Then a small grin touched her face.

“Hi, Blissey!” The girl moseyed over to Blissey and wrapped her arms around her, trapping her in a hug. Blissey simply closed its eyes and put its stubby arms on the girl. “You’re so nice to hug!”

“Bliss-eey!”

The girl took her arms off of Blissey. “So what’s up?”

“Blissey blissey!” The Blissey chirped in a sing-song voice.

“You’re wishing me happy birthday?” The girl’s eyes glimmered with joy as she translated the Pokemon’s words, her hands clasping together. “Thank you!”

Blissey jabbered on some more. “Mom wants me downstairs? Sure. I’ll be down in a jiffy!” The girl ran back to the bed, slipped a small bookmark in her book, closed it shut, and darted down the stairs, going right past Blissey. The big pink and white Pokemon simply smiled and followed her from behind at a slower pace. A calendar that she passed had a red circle around a particular date. April 18th, with the words _“Julia’s 11th Birthday!”_ written in black pen ink right in the middle.

She had gotten herself dressed long before hand so she would be ready right from the get-go. Today she chose a favorite choice of raiment: a periwinkle, short sleeved hoodie with a pocket in the middle covering a sleeveless white top, a pair of light rosy pink shorts, white ankle socks with pink stars on them, and blue sneakers. Already, her nostrils could whiff the sweet, buttery smell of fresh toast right out of the toaster.

She ran right by a large, chubby man with dark brown hair sitting at the dining room table, reading the newspaper with one hand, and holding a mug of black coffee with the other. “Hi Dad!” Julia exclaimed cheerfully.

The bespectacled man looked up at his daughter with his deep blue eyes, soft like a clear lake on a summer day. “Morning sweetie. Happy birthday.”

“Thanks, Dad!” Julia grabbed a banana, peeled its skin off, and scarfed down the insides without a second thought. An older woman with frizzy light brown hair stretching down to her back and pale green eyes greeted Julia with a smile. “Hello, Julia. Happy birthday,” She handed her daughter the toast, and Julia ran to the dining room table with it. “You’re pretty bouncy and chipper today.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?!” Julia chirruped before taking a bite of her toast. “I get my own Pokemon today!! Isn’t this awesome, Mom?! Now I get to have a very special forever friend of my very own!” She talked so loud she didn’t notice a girl in the living room, sprawled out on the couch scrolling through her phone. Said girl facepalmed and let out an irritated groan.

“Kassia. Are you seeing this?” Julia’s father asked. Kassia came over and peered down at the newspaper. “There’s more and more cases of Pokemon being taken from their trainers and being sold on the black market. Isn’t this just terrible?”

Kassia’s eyebrows furrowed, and her mouth formed a frown. “It is. Don’t these people have better things to do in their lives than hurt, steal, and sell Pokemon?” She fixed her gaze on Julia. “Have you decided which Pokemon you’re going to get at Professor Elm’s lab?”

“Of course!” Julia rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a photo of a small, pale yellow Pokemon with shiny red eyes and a big green leaf on its head. “Chikorita! It’s the cutest of the bunch!”

Her mother’s smile returned. “I see! Chikorita was my first Pokemon when I was starting out. I guess I can’t say I’m surprised,” Kassia said with a chuckle.

By this time, Julia had finished her breakfast. “I’m gonna go in the ranch so I can tell everyone about it!” Without stopping to put her plate away, Julia burst through the back door without a second thought.

Right in her backyard was a huge, green meadow that stretched out for miles, all encased by a wired fence meant to keep pokemon from escaping. The meadow was overrun with all kinds of Pokemon. Some of the bigger ones were a large yellow fox with nine fluffy tails, a green dinosaur with a big pink flower around its neck, a large yellow sheep-like creature with black stripes and no fur, a bug covered in shiny red armor, a big brown bear with a yellow ring on its abdomen, etc. To the normal child, seeing all these big Pokemon would be somewhat scary. But to Julia, it was as commonplace as waking up every day.

“Morning everyooooone!! Guess whaaaat?!” Julia yelled loud enough for all to hear. The Pokemon all turned their heads to face her, wondering what the hubbub was all about. “I’m gonna get my first Pokemon todaaaaaay!! Isn’t that awesoooooome?!”

It was here that the big green dinosaur approached her, tilting its head to one side. “Manyuu?”

“Hi there, Meganium!”

“Mega mega!”

“Guess what? I’m gonna get a Chikorita at Professor Elm’s lab today!” Julia talked to her mother’s Meganium like they had been friends for years. Then again, they had been. “It’s gonna be so great! I’m gonna have a friend of my very own to play with forever and ever! I’ve always wanted my own Pokemon, and Chikorita’s my favorite out of all the starters, and we can be best friends! Don’t you think that’s great?”

The joy in her voice was unmistakable. All Meganium did was smile and nod like it understood everything she said. “Mega mega.”

“If it’s a boy, I’ll name him Florian. If it’s a girl, I’ll name her either Megan, Chloris, or Midori! How’s that?” Julia asked curiously.

Meganium didn’t say a word. It did let out an odd snorty sound. Julia simply smiled sweetly, like she always did when meeting the Pokemon. She flapped her hands up and down while jumping up and down, squealing like a little kid. “This is soooooo awesome! I can’t wait I can’t wait I can’t wait I can’t waaaait!”

The big bear Pokemon wasn’t bothered by her squealing, letting out a big yawn before drifting back to sleep. The yellow fox Pokemon simply smiled and walked to another part of the meadow. The sheep Pokemon simply nudged Julia’s face and cooed as it nuzzled her. Julia couldn’t help but laugh sweetly.

“Hi, Ampharos!” Julia chirruped, stroking Ampharos’s cheeks gently. “I know, right? I’m gonna get a new friend! Isn’t this great?”

_CRASH!_ All the joy was suddenly knocked out of her system by the thundering sound of crashing glass. It made Julia jump at least an inch off the ground, and her eyes got so wide they looked like saucers. All the other Pokemon held their heads up in surprise. The sound of crashing glass wasn’t anything anyone heard every day.

“Get out of my face, you freakin’ piece of garbage!!” A shrill, hysterical voice screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Vapooor!”

“Oh no!” Julia wasted no time running back into the house. A blue four legged creature was running all over the house with a look of fear on its face. An older girl of about thirteen with light brown hair tied in a ponytail held a spatula in her hand, chasing it all over, ice blue eyes blazing with rage.

Julia ran into the dining room and saw that one of her mother’s flower vases had fallen onto the floor, reduced to nothing but large shards. A sentret was quietly poking the glass shard gently, taking care not to cut itself on a sharp edge. Some withered flowers scattered on the floor, and a sunflora picked them up, putting them in the trash can in the kitchen diligently. Next to the sentret was a tennis ball. Julia deduced that might have been what broke the vase.

“Amara, no!” Kassia cried. “Leave Vaporeon alone!” Finally, she managed to grab the girl by both arms and restrain her, much to Amara’s infuriation. Amara kicked her legs up and down and screeched. Vaporeon ran into Julia’s arms like a lost child looking for its mother and buried himself in her warm, loving arms.

“It stepped on my I-pod!!” Amara screamed, her eyes red with fury. “I paid a thousand bucks for that thing!!”

“Vaporeon vaporeon!” Vaporeon cried.

“Vaporeon says it was an accident. It didn’t mean to step on your Ipod,” Julia told her.

“I can’t listen to my durn music anymore and it’s all your fault, you idiot!!” Amara screamed. Julia’s hands flew to her ears, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Amara’s yelling pounded on her ears, and despite her hands shielding them, the yelling wasn’t muffled enough. The sentret and the sunflora stopped to nervously observe the chaotic scene playing out before them.

“Amara! Stop this right now!” Kassia scolded. “You wonder why your trainer’s license got confiscated! This needs to stop!”

Amara pried herself out of Kassia’s grasp and slammed her fist on the dining room table. Julia was quick to take vaporeon, sentret, and sunflora out of the room. “Oh, so it’s my fault my I-pod got destroyed?! My God, I swear you care way more about that spoiled brat and these stupid beasts than you do me! You wonder why I freakin’ hate you so much!!”

“I’m not blaming you for anything! You need to learn to take responsibility for your actions, and you can’t treat pokemon like they’re your punching bags!” Kassia argued, running her hands through her hair. When was this going to end?

“Why does Julia get a Pokemon?! What makes her so freakin’ special?! Why do you care so much about everyone else but me?!”

Julia, vaporeon, sentret, and sunflora all gathered in her bedroom, huddled together. Sunflora had her leafy arms right on Julia’s ears, protecting them from the booming sounds of Amara’s yelling. “Thanks, Sunflora. You’re the best,” Julia told her gratefully. “Sunflora!” The sentient flower chirruped with a forced smile. 

The sounds of Kassia and Amara arguing had become a common occurrence in the Parisa household. There was never a day when her mother and sister weren’t arguing over something stupid, and it was mostly Amara starting all the arguments, usually by making a big deal out of something small. She always had a short fuse. She certainly wasn’t like this when she was young. In fact, Amara used to be nice and kind. But all of a sudden, she became moody, rebellious, argumentative, and even cruel. Not just toward people, but Pokemon.

Her sudden change in personality happened after she got her first Pokemon two years ago. It was a totodile. Julia liked that blue alligator pokemon and it's happy, peppy, and energetic personality, and playing tag with it had been a regular occurrence for about a year. One day, out of the blue, Kassia had gone out with her meganium to water some flowers...only to witness a horrible sight: Amara had been beating her totodile with a rock! Luckily, it wasn’t badly hurt, and Kassia’s meganium was able to stop the beating before it could turn deadly. By law, Kassia had to take Amara to the police. That was when Kassia learned the awful truth: this wasn’t the first time it happened. Other witnesses had come forward, saying that they saw Amara kicking and punching innocent pokemon for no real reason, treating them like her personal punching bags.

After going through court sessions and witness accounts, it was decided that Amara be stripped of her trainer’s license and put on the Trainer Blacklist indefinitely. That was a court sponsored document that had names of any ex-trainers who harmed or mistreated pokemon in any fashion, all of whom had their trainer licenses confiscated or exterminated. Amara didn’t get thrown in jail thanks to Kassia paying a fine, but she would no longer be allowed to own any of her own pokemon, and her totodile was taken from her, given to another trainer. 

The only way she could get off the blacklist was to rectify her behavior, go to counseling or therapy, and promise to treat pokemon better. Amara didn’t do any of these things, nor did she have any intention of doing so, and considering how sour her attitude had become, it didn’t seem like she would be doing anything anytime soon. She did go to therapy, as the court mandated, but she heard her parents say that Amara was giving the counselors and therapists grief and not cooperating. It certainly didn’t help that she refused to explain why she treats Pokemon the way she does, and to this day she still hasn’t spilled her guts to anyone, not even the therapists.

Julia let out a sigh. “I hate it when she gets like this…”

The blue mammal let out an apologetic sob, its long ears pointing downward. Julia forced a smile and stroke his head gently. “It’s okay, Vaporeon. I know you didn’t mean it. I don’t know why Amara’s like this…”

“Sentret sentret!”

“I hear you. I kinda figured she’d flip out on my birthday too, so I’m not surprised.”

_SLAM!_ The sound of a door slamming shut made Julia’s hands fly to her ears once more. This time, it was only for a brief moment. She pitied her poor parents for having to deal with Amara. In her heart, she wished there was something she could do to make their lives easier. But wasn’t it about time she get her Pokemon? She remembered that her mother promised she would take her to Professor Elm’s lab.

Quietly, she went out of her room and walked into the living room, noticing her mother sitting on the couch hunched over, with her hands running through her scraggly hair. Kassia let out a loud, irritated groan that told Julia that she was in no mood for talking with anyone. She knew that from experience. Julia took a step backward, looking away as she turned around and left her mother in there. Oh well. Maybe her dad could help.

As she expected, Julia found her father in his room, folding shirts and pants on his bed diligently. To think her mother would sometimes complain about how he wouldn’t help out around the house sometimes. “Hey, Dad?”

Her father turned around to find his youngest daughter behind him. “Oh! Hey there, Jules! Sorry about that fiasco just now,” He said as he put down a folded shirt. “How come Kassia hasn’t taken you to Elm’s yet?”

“She’s in a bad mood,” Julia answered, tapping a foot on the floor twice.

Her father rubbed his head with a big hand. “I’m not surprised. If you want, I can--” Before he could fulfill Julia’s request, his big black cell phone let out a ringtone that sounded very much like a race car going at high speed. Since it was at a high volume, Julia’s hands flew to her ears once more. He was quick to answer it. “Hello?”

_“Hey, Truman!”_ The scratchy voice on the other end was so loud, Julia was able to hear it. It was here that sentret and vaporeon peeked into the bedroom.

“Hey, Lawrence!” Truman replied. “Yes. Yes. What?!” Truman yelped, his glasses falling down his nose. “Right now?! Why didn’t you tell me this last week?! I would have delivered it to you right then and there!”

_“Sorry. It slipped my mind.”_

Truman let out a sigh. The sentret and vaporeon gave each other confused looks. “Alright. I’ll be there in a jiffy. Bye,” With that, he hit the end button and stashed his phone in his pocket. “Sorry, Jules. That was Lawrence. I have to go and deliver some papers to him right now.”

“What?!” Julia couldn’t believe it. “Right now? But his house is twenty minutes away from here, and what if my Chikorita gets taken by another trainer?!”

Truman put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder, looking her in the eye with a sympathetic expression. It pained him to see his daughter disappointed, especially on her birthday, no less. He wished that Lawrence requested them last week so he wouldn’t have to do this on her special day. 

“It’ll be alright, sweetie. Elm’s a good guy. We told him about this in advance, so I’m sure he has one just for you. I’ll try to come back as quickly as I can, and I’ll pick you up so we can go to Elm’s lab to pick it up together. Promise?”

Despite his reassurance, Julia could feel doubt gnawing at her heart like an arbok swallowing its prey whole. She was always one to be punctual, to get to any place she wanted to at a certain time, on time, so everything could go smoothly. She hated it when things like this happened, even though she understood that sometimes things like this were inevitable. Besides, if she couldn’t get a Chikorita today, she could always get one tomorrow, or even a week after. “Sure.”

“That’s good. I’ll be back soon!” With that, Truman grabbed his keys and rushed out the door. Julia could hear the motor in his black Mercedes roar as he turned on the ignition, and watched as he drove away.

When the car left, Julia went downstairs to find Kassia in the den, lying on the couch, watching yet another show about soon-to-be brides trying on fancy white wedding dresses. She went into the living room and plopped on the couch. “Just great! This just haaaad to happen on my birthday, didn’t it?!” She hated complaining, and knew it wouldn’t do any good, but she needed to let her feelings out somehow. 

She had been looking forward to this day for six months straight. She had planned everything. The time to get there, the pokemon she would pick, the name she’d give it, she even bought two accessories for it with her own money. One was a pink and white ribbon with a darker pink fake jewel on it in case the pokemon was a girl, and the other was a silver and blue ankle bracelet in case it was a boy. Amara just had to ruin it with her yelling. Now some trainer would probably get her chikorita before she could.

Come to think of it, Professor Elm’s lab was just a five minute walk from here. If that was the case...then what was stopping her from going there by herself? She and her family had passed the lab a million times throughout her life, so she knew where it was. If she could try going there by herself, she could go get her chikorita on time, that way Kassia and Truman wouldn’t have to.

It would be that easy. Julia hopped off of the couch right as some pokemon approached her. “Mom’s always telling me I need to do more things by myself, so it’ll be perfect!” She darted into the kitchen, grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, wrote something down, and slapped it on the kitchen counter. She grabbed her pink house key and quietly closed the door behind her.

She didn’t get one step past the porch because some pokemon squeaked, catching her attention. One was a yellow and white shrew pokemon, sandshrew. The other was a blue plant with big green leaves on it, an oddish. Another was a purple and white rat, a rattata. Another was a sentient piece of pink and white coral, a corsola.

“Rattata!”

“Sand! Shrew!”

“Odd odd oddish!”

“Corsola!”

“Hey guys!” Julia kneeled down to their level and put a finger in front of her mouth. “I’m going to Professor Elm’s lab to get my friend. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Okay?” The pokemon nodded in unison. With that, she stood back up and walked away. “Here goes nothing!”

Some other pokemon, such as a bellossom, a miltank, and a big blastoise watched as she quietly and contentedly walked away from the Parisa house. “Bella bella!” The bellossom chirped with a bright smile, waving its stubby hand right at her. Julia waved right back before turning left at the sign.

The sound of a soft, gentle breeze echoed in her ears, rustling the green leaves on the big trees, making them sound as though they were whispering. Was this the passing of a god? She couldn’t help but breathe in willfully as she walked, enjoying the tranquility that lay in the air. Her mind cleared, but one thing didn’t change: she was going to get her pokemon today. A large building came into view, with a big sign in front of it reading Professor Elm Lab. This was it!

“Yay! I’m here!” She found herself running toward the building, right as a young girl with flowing orange hair came out the doors with a pokeball in her hand. “Whoa!” Luckily, she saw her in the nick of time and stopped right before she could potentially knock her over. “Whoops! Sorry about that!”

The orange haired girl chuckled. “It’s okay. Are you here for a pokemon, too?” She asked in a clear, pretty voice.

Julia’s cheeks burned. “Uh...Y-Y-Y-Yeah!”

“You have a good one.”

“Y-Y-Y-You too!” With that, the girl walked away, and Julia let out a relieved sigh. “Glad that didn’t last long.”

Now that the coast was clear, she approached the automatic doors, which opened as she was only a foot away from them. She walked inside without a word, glancing at the clean walls, the odd machines that beeped and flashed multicolored lights, the desk that had three red and white pokeballs on them. 

“Excuse me!” She called out. No response. “Hello? Is anyone here?”

Finally, she saw a man looking deep into a microscope. He was a plain, lanky man dressed in a clean white lab coat, his dark eyes obscured by his thick glasses, and the tuft of brown hair on his head didn’t exactly make him handsome. Julia recognized him right away. “Professor Elm!”

“Yes?” He replied insouciantly, not taking his eyes off of his microscope for a second.

“H-He-Hello! I-I’m Julia Parisa. I live down the road a bend?”

“Yes.”

Julia couldn’t help but be a little confused. Sure, it was nice that he was absorbed in his research, but she couldn’t help but be a little annoyed at his lack of attention. The least he could do was say hi. “Umm...I’m here to pick up my pokemon.”

“Which one?”

“A chikorita? My dad told you about it. Y’know, Truman Parisa? You guys talked and said I could get one today?”

“Sorry. The last one was taken just now. There are no more pokemon left.”

“WHAT?!” She screamed so loud, it was enough to make Professor Elm finally take his eyes off of his microscope. She thought her ears were playing tricks on her at first. But her ears were hypersensitive, and there was no way she could mistake it for anything else. Her chikorita was taken? The pokemon she planned on getting? Gone? Just like that? Perhaps that girl from earlier took it. But it couldn’t be true! She had planned for this for weeks. “Didn’t you have one on reserve or something?!”

Professor Elm stammered, holding his hands up like he was being arrested. “Sorry! By law we can’t put pokemon on reserve. Any trainer that comes in is allowed the option of choosing their pokemon right on the spot. There are no special reservations period,” He explained ruefully.

Julia looked down at her feet with a disappointed look. “Oh. I see. So...are you going to get another one soon?” She looked up, noting the single tuft of hair on his head. She couldn’t help but think it looked like misplaced pokemon hair, like from an ursaring.

“Hmm…” Professor Elm put a hand on his chin before losing himself in his thoughts for a brief moment. “I do have more pokemon on the way,” He began. There was absolutely no confidence in his voice. “But the shipment won’t arrive until at least another week or so. Airlines have increased their security because of Team Rocket’s schemes, and security teams are investigating any and all packages to make sure there’s no bombs or anything like that.”

If words could be knives that could stab people in the heart until they bled, Professor Elm’s answer pierced Julia’s heart, splitting it in two. “A week?! Seriously?!” Her mind was running in circles. A whole week? Just to get a pokemon? She didn’t think she could wait that long. Was getting a pokemon really that hard? She let out a rueful sigh. Yet another birthday disappointment. “Oh well. Thanks anyway.”

“Sorry, dear.”

Without another word, Julia walked out the door. “Tell your parents I said hi!” He exclaimed. Julia didn’t look at him, nor did she say goodbye. Now, the pretty trees and flowers didn’t delight her. Once she was on the path, she stopped and let out a wail.

“Awwwwww!! I can’t believe this!!” Julia wailed, falling to her knees. “I should have gotten here earlieeeeeer!!” She cried loud enough to make some hoothoot fly out of their trees. She sat there for a few minutes, thinking about the disappointment. Her birthday wasn’t supposed to turn out this way. She wished she had left earlier. Better yet, she should have planned this out better. But she knew in a way this was inevitable, and he did say more pokemon would arrive in a week, so it wasn’t all bad.

She stood back up and stretched her arms out. “This stinks, but I might as well wait. Complaining isn’t gonna do any good,” She told herself. “Better deal with it.”

Sometimes things like this could be a blessing in disguise. God works in mysterious ways.

Julia had passed by a small rose bush when she heard it rustling rather loudly. She stopped in her tracks, freezing in place. Was it a wild pokemon? Her parents drilled it into her head that if a wild pokemon hopped out of tall grass that she run. Feral pokemon were sometimes dangerous, especially if she didn’t have a pokemon of her own to hold it off. What if it was a big and dangerous pokemon? Fear overtook her, and her feet were glued to the dirt path beneath her sneakers.

She shut her eyes, fearing the worst. 

“Chu!” A tiny squeak prompted her to open one eye.

Much to her surprise, it was a small pokemon. A dark yellow mouse creature with big ears shaped like diamonds with black tips. It had a black tail shaped like an L, cherry red cheeks, a pointed black neck ruffle around its neck, and small feet and arms. 

“It’s a pichu!” She exclaimed. The pichu was lying on its stomach, breathing heavily like it had run a marathon.

Upon closer inspection, something was odd. She had read plenty of books to know that pichu normally had light yellow fur, not dark yellow. But that wasn’t the big problem. Its face was purple and pale, and sweat beaded from its face. Its tiny feet were covered in dirt and scratches, and there were fresh scratches on its body, with fresh blood trickling right out.

“Oh my goodness!” The fear morphed into concern as she kneeled down to pick up the tiny pokemon. “You poor thing! Are you okay?” She cradled the tiny pokemon in her arms like a mother holding a baby. Its body was hot to the touch, like fire. The pichu kept taking in huge breaths of air, but it's breathing was hoarse. But something about its breath was odd.

It smelled sweet, like honey.

“Poison!” Julia mused to herself. She had read a book about poison type pokemon and how their poison attacks could severely hurt pokemon, or even kill humans. It said something about a poisoned victim’s breathing could smell sweet like fresh honey.

There was no denying it. She needed to get help right away. Her mother could help. She worked at a Pokemon Center. “Don’t worry, little pichu! My mom can help you! Everything will be a-okay!”

Before she could rush to her house, a loud buzzing sound stopped her in her tracks. Once again, fear froze her in place. This time, it really was a dangerous pokemon. A group of large, pale yellow bees with large white wings, big white stingers, and glowing red eyes flew out of the bushes, ready to attack. 

_‘OH NO!! Beedrill!!’_ Julia screamed in her head. With a scream, she made a beeline for the road home. The seven or eight beedrill were in hot pursuit.

Clutching the sick pichu tightly in her arms, Julia tried forcing her legs to carry her back home. She was never one for running, but she knew she had to, for this pichu’s sake. With every step she took, fear turned into adrenaline, shooting right through her body. With every breath she took, the beedrill continued to fly after her, their stingers ready for piercing.

_‘Please don’t let them hurt me please don’t let them hurt me please don’t let them hurt me please don’t--’_ Julia kept reciting this mantra in her head over and over. The beedrill’s buzzing became louder and louder with every step. The pichu in her arms clutched her shirt for dear life. All of a sudden, Julia’s sneaker ran into a big rock, and with a yelp, she fell right down on the dirt.

Some gravel underneath the path skinned her knee, and her elbows ran right into some rocks. She struggled to get back up, but her legs felt heavy, like someone had duct taped cinder blocks on them. Julia turned around, her eyes widening with fear at the sight of even more beedrill behind her. Their glowing red eyes and their large stingers could strike fear into anyone. Her mouth fell open, and her whole body trembled. Even her hands shook. The pichu in her arms could feel her hands shaking.

Was this it? Was this how her life was going to end?

“Pichu!” Suddenly, the pichu hopped out of her arms despite wobbling. “Piii…” It flung its tiny hands in the air as sparks of yellow electricity flashed around its tiny cheeks. “CHUUUU!!” A big bolt of thunder shot at the beedrill. They all managed to evade the attacks save for one beedrill, who came out of the attack roasted like roast beef.

That was enough for the pichu to completely collapse. “Pichu!” Julia caught it before it could fall down. “You tried to save me, didn’t you?” This Pichu was so brave. Despite being sick with poison, it still managed to find the strength to try and save a complete stranger.

Why couldn’t she be that brave?

She knew there was no way they could fight them off. Despite Julia’s efforts to stand back up, two beedrill used their stingers to stab her in the back. “PICHU!” The pichu cried. They didn’t stab so hard that they went through the girl, nor were they dripping with poison, but it still hurt enough to make Julia fall to the ground again.

Julia squeezed her eyes shut, held the pichu close, and let out a scream.

Someone...help…

“VAPOOOOR!!” A blast of water shot at the beedrill that tried to attack her, sending it flying. Julia opened her eyes to find…

“Mom!”

Kassia stood in a battle stance, with her vaporeon by her side. “Vaporeon! Use Aurora Beam!”

“Vay!” A surge of rainbow hued light swirled around vaporeon’s mouth before shooting right at the beedrill. The beam of light managed to hit three of them, encasing them in big blocks of ice. Julia took this chance to run to her mother’s side.

Knowing this battle was hopeless, the beedrill conceded defeat and flew away, retreating. Julia let out a huge sigh of relief. “Oh my God! I thought I was done for!”

“Julia!”

“Mom!”

Kassia threw her arms around her daughter. “Thank goodness I made it in time! You’re safe!” Kassia cried, burying her face in her daughter’s shoulder for a brief moment. She then pulled it out and gave Julia a stern look. “What were you thinking?! You actually went to Elm’s lab all by yourself?!”

“That’s not important right now! Look!” Julia showed her mother the sick pichu. “The poor thing’s sick with poison! I thought maybe you could try and help it.”

“My word!” Kassia took the pichu from her daughter’s arms. The pichu’s body was so hot it was almost burning, like a heater on full blast. “Come on. We’re taking it to Elm’s lab.” Immediately she marched in the direction of the lab.

“Huh?” Julia tilted her head to one side in confusion, but followed from behind. “But his lab isn’t a Pokemon Center.”

“I know, but he has a healing machine we can use,” Kassia explained. “It works just like the ones that Pokemon Centers use.”

It didn’t take long for them to get to Professor Elm’s lab. As soon as Kassia told him everything that happened, he took the pichu and put it in the machine without question or hesitation. Since the pichu was a wild one and didn’t belong to any trainer, it was placed in another room where it was put inside a glass container. The pichu slept contentedly and it glowed in a soft blue light. Julia watched from the window as the pichu slept inside the container.

Already, her heart went out to the yellow mouse pokemon. Even though it was very severely injured and poisoned by those beedrill, as she assumed, it still tried to save her. The odds were completely against it, yet it took the chance. Julia couldn’t believe that a tiny pichu could be so brave, so courageous, so willing to help a total stranger. She could see the scratches on its body gradually disappearing, and it’s face relaxed, so it no longer looked twisted or contorted.

“It’s a good thing you took it here,” Professor Elm suddenly said from behind her.

“Is...is the pichu gonna be okay?” Julia asked shyly.

Professor Elm gave a firm nod. “Everything’s going smoothly, so the pichu should be released in about fifteen minutes tops.”

A smile creeped onto Julia’s face, stretched toward her cheeks. “Thank goodness!” The minute he said that, it felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted off of her heart. The pichu is going to be okay! “Yes!” Julia jumped up once and twirled around like a top joyfully. She had saved the pichu.

Kassia suddenly approached her. “Julia. Why did you go to Professor Elm’s lab alone? Why didn’t you ask me to take you?”

Julia looked down at her feet, averting her mother’s gaze. “You were in a bad mood. I didn’t want to make you angrier than you already were, and...I got a little impatient. Sorry.”

So that was it. Her daughter just wanted to be considerate and do something herself. Kassia had always been nagging her daughter about doing more things by herself. Perhaps this was good for her. It was definitely good for that pichu. Kassia’s lips curled up and she put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, sweetie. Did you get your chikorita?”

“No. Professor Elm said there are none left,” She replied.

“I’m going to talk with the professor for a while. You wait here, okay?”

“Yes, Mom.”

Normally when she was asked to wait, Julia would get bored if she didn’t have a book or games with her. Instead, when Kassia and Professor Elm went into another room, all she did was watch the pichu from the window. The scratches on its body had disappeared completely. The color had returned to its face.

Speaking of color, the pichu’s darker coloring was still a strong thought in her mind. Many books she read about pokemon showed pichu being a pale yellow color. No pichu she saw had ever had dark yellow fur. Was this a new species of pichu yet to be discovered? Or just a different coloring that had recently appeared? Julia wasn’t sure, and she figured Professor Elm may not have much answers on it either.

A warm feeling enveloped her heart, morphing into love as soon as the machine beeped. A woman took the pichu out of the glass container, but the pichu suddenly darted out the door. It hopped right in front of Julia, its eyes shining, flashing a bright smile that could light up an entire room.

“Pichu pichu!” The little pichu leaped into Julia’s arms and nuzzled her shirt happily. “Pichu pichu pichu!”

“Whoa! Hi!” Julia exclaimed. The pichu had jumped on her so hard that she almost fell over, had she not maintained her balance. But she had to admit, the pichu’s fur felt nice and soft, and it wasn’t hot to the touch like before. “I’m...glad you’re okay.”

“Pichu!”

“Huh? Am I okay? Sure I am!”

“Pichu chuuu!”

“You’re welcome,” With that, the pichu chirruped as it crawled up to Julia’s face and rubbed itself against it. Julia let out a merry giggle as the pichu cuddled with her. “You’re so cute!” Something in her just clicked. This pichu was quite the adorable little pokemon. It didn’t want to stop nuzzling her, and Julia didn’t mind at all. She sat down on a chair and let the pichu shower her with cuddles.

Perhaps...she wouldn’t have to wait a week for her own pokemon after all.

Kassia and Professor Elm came back into the room. “Oh! Looks like the pichu’s all better now!” Professor Elm exclaimed, noting not just the pichu and its dark fur, but the fact that it was sitting in Julia’s arms with a content expression on its face.

“Pichu!” The little pichu squeaked.

“Aww. It’s adorable,” Kassia crooned, stroking the pokemon’s ear with her finger.

“Mom? Professor Elm?”

“Yes?”

“I…” Julia had to get it out. And she did. “I want this pichu!”

“What?!” Both Kassia’s and Professor Elm’s eyes increased in size, like they heard Julia say she wanted to play with a gyarados. They couldn’t prevent the ungraceful dropping of their jaws. For a moment they were sure Julia had said something else. However, in the back of their minds, they knew that when Julia said she wanted something, she meant it.

Julia held the pichu close to her. “You heard me. I want this pichu to be my friend.”

“Are you sure about this?” Professor Elm asked, rubbing his head with one hand with a doubtful expression on his bespectacled face. “That pichu’s a wild pokemon, and I was planning on studying the difference in it’s fur color later on.”

“I am sure, Professor.”

“Pichu pichu pichu pichu!”

“What’s it saying?” Kassia asked.

“She’s saying, _‘Don’t worry! I don’t bite! I want to be her friend! She saved me!’_ ” Julia translated before looking her mother right in the eye. “Mom! I promise I’ll take super duper good care of her! She likes me too much already! I’ll do the dishes! Clean my room every day! Do the laundry! Anything!” Julia begged. She hated the subtle whine in her voice, but she couldn’t help it. “Pleeeeease, Mom?”

Professor Elm and Kassia looked at each other before whispering amongst themselves. Julia hugged the pichu, holding her close. Would her mother say no? Would Professor Elm give her permission? She could see the serious looks on their faces as they whispered in low voices. As much as she liked chikorita, she loved pichu even more, especially this one. Julia closed her eyes, awaiting yet another birthday disappointment. There was no doubt about it. They’d say no.

“Alright, Julia. You can keep Pichu.”

Wait...what? Julia opened her eyes. Were her ears playing tricks on her? “What? Did you...just say yes?!”

Professor Elm nodded. “We’ll let you keep the pichu. Here,” He handed her a red and white pokeball, an item used to capture a pokemon. “If you catch it with this, it’ll be yours for life unless you choose to release it.”

Julia couldn’t believe it. She got to keep the pichu. The joy inside her heart bubbled over before bursting out in the form of a loud cheer. “Yaaaay!! Julia held pichu in the air and spun around, squealing and rejoicing like she had won the lottery. “Thank you thank you thank yoooouuuu!!” She leaped onto Professor Elm and gave him a big hug, right as pichu hopped on her head.

“You’re welcome…”

The little girl let go and looked up at her furry friend. “Isn’t this great?! We’re officially friends now!”

“Pichuuu!” The pichu chirruped. She seemed to like the idea of being her pokemon. Julia held the ball up so the pichu could touch it. The pichu tapped the button with its paw before turning into red light. The ball opened up, and the red light went inside. The pokeball shook for a brief moment, with the button flashing a blinking red light. Soon, the red light disappeared. “Come on out, pichu!” Julia re-opened the ball, and pichu came right back out.

“Pichu!”

“Julia?” Professor Elm brought her back to reality.

“Hm?”

“I have more gifts for you,” Professor Elm held out a silver tray, which contained a small red machine, five small PokeBalls, and a small card with a photo of herself on it, along with other information. “These are your PokeDex, PokeBalls, and your trainer ID. These are essential items that a trainer needs in order to pursue their dreams,” Julia took everything from the tray and examined them carefully. She stashed the PokeBalls and the trainer ID in her pocket.

“Thanks! These are great! I’m a real trainer now!” Julia cheered. Just then, it hit her. Pichu are electric type pokemon. She remembered a story she read once, about a pokemon who, with its electric powers, made light reappear in a dark land, bringing everyone happiness.

Light…

“...Hikaru.”

“Chuu?”

Julia kneeled down and scooped the pichu in her arms. “Would it be okay if I named you Hikaru?” She asked politely, meeting the pichu’s eyes without hesitation. Funnily enough, the pichu didn’t even hesitate and let out a cute, joyful squeak, along with shaking its head in agreement.

“Pichuuuuu!”

“Alright! From this day forth, you’re Hikaru Parisa!” Julia held Hikaru close and nuzzled her fur. Hikaru let out some merry giggles, basking in Julia’s love and affection.

“Thank you so much, Professor Elm. We really appreciate this,” Kassia told him.

“It’s no problem,” The lanky professor replied sheepishly.

“Hey, Hikaru! I wanna show you my house! I’ll race you there!”

“Pichu!”

Julia and Hikaru darted out of the lab quicker than Kassia could stop her. “Julia! Wait!” Kassia called out, but her daughter was already far ahead of her, with Hikaru happily tagging behind. Regardless, her lips curled upward, and a warmth enveloped her heart. Her daughter was growing up fast. Now that she had her very own pokemon, there was a lot more she could learn that would really help her in life. Just seeing her happy like this sent Kassia’s heart aflutter with joy.

Hikaru chased after her new trainer, happy as can be. Julia burst through the door without knocking. “I’m back!”

“Shut up, you brat!” Amara shouted from the living room couch. Still scrolling through her cell phone like usual.

_‘Welcome home, Julia. I missed you too. Is it really so hard for you to be nice for even a few seconds?’_ Julia thought to herself sarcastically. Of course Amara would greet her with a shut up. That didn’t make it hurt any less. But now was not the time to angst over Amara’s lack of affection. “Amara! Look! I got my new pokemon!” Julia couldn’t help but show Amara Hikaru. “She’s a pichu, and her name’s Hikaru! Isn’t she adorable?!”

The older girl barely even glanced at Hikaru. The tiny mouse flashed a smile, but it faded when Amara got up and stomped away from the couch. “Do I look like I care? You idiots are pathetic,” Amara sneered with a bitter tone of voice before stomping into the kitchen.

“Sorry about her. She isn’t very nice,” Julia told her little friend. “Come on! Let’s go to my room and play!” Both she and Hikaru ran up the stairs.

Amara stood in the kitchen, gulping down a can of cold soda. It did nothing to ease not only her anger, but jealousy. Why was Julia able to get a pokemon and she had to get hers taken away? Then again, she knew the reason why, but couldn’t accept it. In fact, just seeing Julia with her new friend made flames of envy dance in her heart. In her mind, Julia didn’t deserve a pokemon. What made her so special? Why did everything have to always go so swimmingly with her? Amara just couldn’t understand.

She was sick of it. Sick of everything.


	2. A Theft In The Pokemon Lab!

Having Hikaru in the house made all of Julia’s previous birthday disappointments go away, like they had never been there in the first place. Sure, it stunk that she couldn’t get a chikorita like she wanted, but that was okay with her. Sometimes things in life happen that people can’t control, and the best thing to do was to deal with it in any way she could. Besides, she had already fallen head over heels for Hikaru the minute she laid eyes on her.

A week after she received her starter, milky morning light illuminated her room, forcing her awake. This time, she welcomed the new morning with a light heart as she peeled her eyes open, gazing down at little Hikaru sleeping right next to her. The little pichu was snug as a bug underneath a small, warm, white and pink blanket she had had since she herself was a baby, right underneath Julia’s pink and blue comforter. Julia knew she loved this little pichu from the bottom of her heart. She was a girl who would protect the smallest pokemon, cry over the terminally sick pokemon who had to go to heaven, and take wounded pokemon to her parents so they could help them, no matter what, even if it meant she’d get scratched and sometimes bitten. Julia stroke Hikaru’s soft, deep yellow fur and knew that this little friend would be far more satisfying than any doll she had ever owned, and she definitely wasn’t any typical pichu. This pichu, Hikaru, was special.

A little later, Hikaru awoke and greeted Julia with a happy chirrup, as if to say, “Good morning!” Right afterward, Julia put Hikaru on her lap and read a book about Pokemon. “See this one? That’s a Gyarados,” Julia pointed to a page depicting a large, blue serpentine pokemon with a big, wide open mouth. “They’re very fierce and easy to anger. In fact, it says here that they can reduce entire villages to rubble if they’re angry enough, and they can go on destroying everything for a month straight!”

“Pichuuuu!” Hikaru found herself shivering in fear, terrified at the thought of such a scary pokemon living on Earth.

“Scary, aren’t they?” Hikaru nodded as her trainer stroke her ear reassuringly. “Don’t worry. We’re far away from where gyarados live,” The yellow mouse found some comfort in her new trainer’s words. “See here?” Julia pointed to two different pictures. “Here’s how you can tell their gender. If the whiskers on their faces are white, that means they’re girls. If they’re blue, they’re boys. Got that?”

Hikaru nodded without a word. “Oh! Here’s a pretty pokemon!” Julia turned the page and stopped at one showing a butterfly with large, white wings. “Have you ever seen a butterfree before?”

“Pichu!”

“Of course you have. They’re pretty common,” Julia agreed. “I wouldn’t mind catching one of my own. If I catch a girl one, I’ll name her Papillon. That means butterfly, and it sounds so pretty. Don’t you think?”

Watching from the hallway, Kassia wiped a tear out from her eye. She was never one to cry at things like this, but it warmed her heart to see her daughter so happy, so radiant, so...overcome with joy. Perhaps getting this pichu did prove to be a good thing after all, and to think Julia had been so set on getting a chikorita before. As long as her daughters were happy, Kassia was happy, and that was all that mattered. She gently knocked on Julia’s door three times.

In perfect unison, both Julia and Hikaru looked up. “What’s up, Mom?”

“Breakfast is ready, dear,” Kassia told her.

Julia picked Hikaru up and nuzzled her cheek warmly. “I’ll bet you’re hungry, aren’t you?”

“Chuu!” Hikaru had to admit, she found herself liking this girl. At first, she wasn’t quite sure what to think of her. She had heard stories about bad humans and how they would hurt pokemon. But Julia didn’t seem like those bad humans. If she was, she would have hurt Hikaru by now. The fact that Julia was showering her with all the love she could give was enough to let Hikaru know that this girl wasn’t anyone to be afraid of.

Neither of them wasted any time getting down to the dining room table and chomping down breakfast. Kassia had taken the time to make a special bowl of brown pokemon food just for Hikaru, right next to Julia’s plate. Of course, that didn’t mean Julia didn’t give her little friend some of her own breakfast, such as a small slice of her toast and bananas. The entire dining room was enveloped in warmth, and everyone smiled upon seeing Hikaru and Julia interact. Well, except Amara.

Amara kept staring at the happy pair with a permanent scowl, her eyebrows furrowed in contempt. Just seeing the two of them together made her sick to her stomach, but more than anything, the blazing flames of envy danced in her heart wildly. Amara pressed her lips together so as to not say anything, but it was hard. Julia kept going on and on about how wonderful Hikaru was. She just wished she’d stop.

“Hey, Amara,” Truman piped up, taking a glance at his older daughter. “I hear you got a B on your history test. Congrats,” He told her kindly.

“It’s no big deal,” Amara hissed in a deadpan tone. “I just happened to know everything, that’s all.”

“How about later on, we go to your favorite restaurant tonight?” Truman suggested, smiling warmly. “I know how much you like their shrimp scampi.”

For the briefest moment, a smile touched Amara’s face. However, it immediately disappeared the moment Julia talked once more. “Is it true that pichu touch their tails and let off sparks as a test of courage?” Julia asked before sipping some water out of her teddiursa themed cup.

“Yes,” Kassia replied after sipping some coffee. “For the most part.”

Truman’s face was buried in the newspaper like usual, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t paying attention. Amara’s hand formed a fist. “I read that even though pichu aren’t good at storing electricity, they get better as they get older.”

“Pichuu!” Hikaru patted its chest with one paw as if to flaunt something. “Pichu chu pichupi!”

“Hikaru says she can use her thunder powers just fine,” Julia said with a giggle. “You little braggart,” She stroke Hikaru’s diamond shaped ear with one hand. “Oh! Hikaru! Exactly what were you doing before you came to New Bark Town? Why were those beedrill chasing you?”

Amara dropped her spoon and an expression of surprise appeared on her face, like Julia asked a really inappropriate question. Hikaru talked as she moved her hands around. “Ohhh. So you wanted get some berries but shocked a beedrill by accident. I can see how that can happen--”

 _SLAM!_ Amara slammed her fist on the table before standing up, freezing Julia in place with an angry glare. Julia’s hands flew to her ears, but Hikaru was quick to stand in between the two in a defensive stance. Truman put his paper down, and Kassia stood up in alarm. “Will you stop already?!”

“Stop what?”

“Your whole _‘I can talk to pokemon’_ shtick!” Amara yelled. “We all know you just want attention like the little attention hog you are!”

“Amara! Watch your mouth!” Truman scolded, walking over to his older daughter. He was about to put a hand on her shoulder, but the older girl was quick to push it away.

“Oh! It’s perfectly okay for her to be a straight up freak and get everything handed to her on a silver platter while I can’t do what I want?!” Amara snapped. “I hate you!! ALL OF YOU!!” With that boiling rhetoric, Amara stomped all the way up to her room, making absolutely no attempt to hide her contempt.

“Amara--” Truman tried to interject, but his wife interrupted him before he could do so.

“Drop the attitude!”

“You stop treating me like I’m nothing!!” Amara shouted before slamming the door.

Julia’s hands didn’t come off of her ears. Hikaru could feel her pain, so she simply tapped her trainer’s hand twice with one paw reassuringly, hoping to let her know that she’s there. Julia smiled silently. Kassia crossed her arms and let out an exasperated sigh. “Amara hates me, doesn’t she?” Julia asked, her voice low and sad.

“That’s not true, dear!” Truman was quick to pull his youngest daughter into a warm, tight hug. “Amara’s just going through a tough time. She needs to do some growing up, that’s all. Kids her age tend to be rebellious and think they can do anything. Plus...she’s still grieving.”

“Truman. We can’t ignore this, you know,” Kassia told him. “Her behavior’s getting worse. I’m going to sign her up for counseling whether she likes it or not. This can’t go on,” Right then and there, the phone rang. She was quick to answer it. “Hello?”

Julia quietly finished her breakfast without a word, with Hikaru close behind. “Oh! Hi, Professor Elm! How’s your research going? Wait...what? You want her to do what?” Kassia’s voice changed from low to loud and back to low within a few seconds. “Can we...go to your lab and talk about this first?” She asked in a whisper. “Yes. Yes. Alright then. As soon as she gets dressed, I’ll bring her with me. Okay. Bye,” With that, she hung the phone up. “Julia? Get dressed, dear. Professor Elm wants us to come to his lab right away.”

“How come?”

“He says he wants to talk to you about something. Bring all of your trainer essentials just in case.”

With that, Julia got herself dressed and ready. But she had to wonder why Professor Elm would want them to come by so early. She didn’t complain, though. She could bring Hikaru with her, so that was a plus. Once she prepared everything--her PokeBalls, her PokeDex, and her trainer’s license--she, Hikaru, and Kassia were on the road to the lab. It had been a week since they were last there. Kassia was quick to meet with Professor Elm and go into another room to talk with him.

Julia sat in the waiting room with Hikaru resting comfortably on her lap. “Now, we can’t play in here. There’s lots of important things in here, and if anything’s broken or ripped, we could get in trouble,” Julia told her yellow friend gently. Hikaru seemed to understand and nodded. 

Right then, both she and Hikaru noticed three pokemon playing in the middle of the room. One was a pale green dinosaur-like creature with big red eyes, green dots lining its neck, and a big leaf on its head. Another was a yellow anteater with a dark blue back with red spots on it, and another was a bipedal light blue alligator. Julia recognized them all immediately.

“Look, Hikaru,” Julia pointed to the three pokemon. “See those pokemon? Those are chikorita, cyndaquil, and totodile!” She thought that Professor Elm might have gotten a new batch of starters just now. He did say that it usually took at least a week for new starters to get sent to him. Julia shrugged. Oh well. Perhaps a new trainer would come and pick them at any time. Besides, as much as she liked chikorita, she would never trade Hikaru for anything else.

Hikaru was absolutely perfect in her eyes.

But Julia couldn’t resist doing one thing. “Hi there, chikorita!” She chirruped. The leaf pokemon turned its head around, facing the girl and the pichu, blinking twice. Seeing that they weren’t doing anything, the chikorita simply smiled and let out a “Chiko chiko!” in response.

The greeting left Hikaru stupefied. The yellow mouse looked up at her trainer and asked. “Pichu pichu pichu chu pichu?” ( _“How come you said hi to the chikorita just now?”_ )

“I just felt like it,” Julia replied. “You know, before we met last week, I wanted to get a chikorita as my starter,” She explained. “They’re just so cute! But Professor Elm didn’t have any left,” Hikaru’s ears drooped downward a bit. Julia could see the dejected expression. “Don’t be sad! I’m happy I met you!” A smile returned to the mouse’s face again. “Hey! I wonder if my PokeDex will work.”

The brown haired girl pulled out her PokeDex. Good, it wasn’t broken. No scratches, nicks, or dents. She held it up to the chikorita, who just sat on the floor to watch his friends play. Immediately, the PokeDex turned itself on. 

_“Chikorita, the leaf pokemon,”_ Julia thought chikorita looked more like a baby dinosaur than a leaf, but considering it has a leaf on its head, she figured that was understandable. _“Chikorita are docile, friendly pokemon who love bathing in the sun’s rays, especially during the summer. The leaf on its head emits a sweet, pleasant aroma that changes in intensity depending on the humidity and the temperature. This helps it seek out warm places to live. People in the old days used chikorita as a barometer. Because of their sweet temper, they have been frequently used as therapy pokemon for people of all ages, whether to help war survivors or people with disabilities and other psychological problems.”_

“Oh! How about I check you out next?” Julia held the PokeDex up to Hikaru.

“Pichu!” Hikaru simply smiled, staring at the PokeDex with awe.

 _“Pichu, the tiny mouse pokemon,”_ The PokeDex said in a dull, monotone, robotic voice. _“Despite their small size, pichu can release bursts of electricity that are strong enough to shock humans, but not to a lethal degree. However, because the sacs on their cheeks are underdeveloped and their lack of skill in controlling said electricity, they release it by accident when they’re surprised or are laughing. They can’t attack others without shocking themselves in the process. They can charge themselves more easily on days where there are thunderclouds or when the air is very dry.”_

Before she could zone out, Kassia and Professor Elm came back into the room, with the bespectacled professor kneeling to her level. “Hello, Julia.”

Julia didn’t meet his gaze. She just kept looking down at Hikaru. “Hi there, professor. Mom said you wanted to...talk to me?” She asked shyly.

“Yes. May I ask you something first?”

“Sure.”

“Do you remember my acquaintance? Mr. Pokemon?”

“Uhh…” Julia tried to look through her memories. Mr. Pokemon...an image of an old man in a brown suit with a grey beard entered her mind. She had met him once before. Just last year, to be exact. Truman had to visit him to talk some things out with him, but Julia kept her ears covered the whole time. He was too loud, and all she wanted to do was leave. Just being in the same room as him made her feel like all the air was being sucked out of her, but she didn’t dare say anything because she didn’t want to make anyone mad. “Yeah, I remember him. Isn’t he really loud?”

Professor Elm let out a chuckle. “Yes, he can be loud. He likes to exaggerate things as well. But anyway…” The bespectacled professor cleared his throat. “Since you have your own pokemon now, we were wondering if maybe you would like to do me a favor.”

“A favor? Like what?”

“You see, I got an email from him saying he has a pokemon egg he wants me to examine,” Professor Elm told her calmly. “But both our schedules are tied up at the moment. Do you remember where he lives?”

“Yeah. Just past Cherrygrove City, right? It’s right near that big cave where all the geodude and zubat and dunsparce live?”

“Yes! Would you like to go to Mr. Pokemon’s and bring the egg here to me?”

If Julia heard him say he caught a legendary pokemon, she wouldn’t be any less surprised. Her mouth fell open. He was asking her to leave the house and go someplace all on her own. Julia clutched Hikaru tightly, her green eyes wide like saucers. Julia was never one to leave the house on her own. True, she went to Professor Elm’s lab last week, but that was because it was close by and because she was impatient.

Going past Cherrygrove City was another story entirely. Driving through Route 29 usually takes about five minutes tops, but on foot it takes at least half an hour, with Mr. Pokemon’s house fifteen minutes away from there. Since both areas had grassy places where pokemon easily roam, if she were caught in any battles, the trip would take even longer. Julia wasn’t sure if she could do this, and why Professor Elm was asking her about this was beyond her.

“It’s been a week since you received Hikaru,” Professor Elm explained. “Usually, trainers take their pokemon and go on their journey right away. Since you’re more cautious, I want to see if you can handle something like this on your own before doing anything else.”

“So...you just want me to go get an egg and bring it back here?” Julia clarified.

Professor Elm nodded. “That’s the gist of it, yes.”

“If you don’t want to, that’s perfectly fine,” Kassia told her reassuringly. “We don’t need to rush things, and you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

Julia was already lost in her thoughts. Lots of trainers traveled the world with their pokemon. She wasn’t sure if she could do that. For her, being with Hikaru was good enough. But if she went on this errand, she could catch some more pokemon. She could make more friends. She could go to Pokemon Marts and buy whatever she needed, go to Pokemon Centers in case her friends got hurt, gather berries to use, and maybe see and catch new pokemon. Plus, it wasn’t as though Mr. Pokemon’s place was hard to get to. She had seen plenty of signs to get there whenever she and her family would drive past it, and for the most part, it could be an easy trek.

Her mind was made up. “I...I want to do it! Is...that okay?”

“Of course it is.”

“How come?” Kassia asked.

Julia stood up. “I can catch some pokemon while I’m out, right? If I have lots of pokemon with me, I can feel safe on the way there and back, right? Hikaru can come with me!”

“Chupi!” Hikaru added to her argument.

“I’m not sure about this…” Kassia added nervously. “I’m happy you want to do this, but we can easily get there by car. You don’t have to-”

“I want to! Please?”

The bespectacled professor put a hand on Kassia’s shoulder. “Let’s let her go on her own. It’ll be good for her.”

After some more talking, they agreed to let Julia go see Mr. Pokemon and pick up the egg. Kassia was quick to hand her an odd, pink cell phone. “This is called a PokeGear. It’s a cellphone, map, and radio all in one. I’ve already put important phone numbers in it in case you need to call us,” Kassia explained, placing the phone in her daughter’s hand. “We already made a call to Mr. Pokemon letting him know you’ll go to pick up the egg. Just call us if you need anything or have any trouble. Okay, sweetie?”

“Yes.”

Kassia pulled her daughter close and pecked her forehead once. With a quiet wave, she and Hikaru walked on the dirt path away from the lab. Kassia buried her face in her hands, worried about what might happen. She had never seen her daughter go off on her own before. To suddenly be away from her, even if it was for a short while, made her heart feel as though someone was duct taping titanium bricks on it. Then again, maybe this would be good for her. After all, children grow up and learn lots of things, so maybe it wouldn’t hurt to let her try this out. Besides, she needed to be there for Amara and help her through her grief. With that in mind, Kassia returned home.

A pair of eyes stared at them from a nearby window, fixating their gaze on one of the pokemon. Particularly the totodile.

***

“Wow! Look, Hikaru! See all those pokemon?” It had been a while since Julia left, but already she was amazed by the pokemon running about. Sentret and rattata scurrying around. Tiny bird pokemon flying across the sky with the wind beneath their wings. The rustling of the trees sounded like a lofty lullaby, and just a whiff of the spring breeze was enough to revitalize anyone who had an appreciation for nature.

“Pichuuuuu…” Hikaru watched as a small sentret scuttled to a nearby stump, standing on its puffy tail to observe its surroundings.

“Oh! A sentret!” Julia pulled out her PokeDex and held it to face the sentret. The brown pokemon glanced at Julia, but didn’t look or feel intimidated in any way.

 _“Sentret, the scout pokemon,”_ The PokeDex announced in a robotic female voice. _“It stands on its tail so it can see a long way. If it spots an enemy, it lets out a loud cry in order to warn the rest of its kind.”_

“So this is how a PokeDex works. Now let’s see…” Julia pressed some buttons and held the PokeDex in front of the sentret once again. A pink female sign appeared at the corner. “Oh! This one’s a girl! I’m gonna catch it!”

Julia rummaged through her pocket to find a PokeBall she could use. _‘I know the books say I should weaken a pokemon to catch it, but...I don’t want to hurt it!’_ She told herself, finally pulling out a PokeBall. “Sentret, you’re--” When she raised her hand to catch it, her mouth fell agape. The sentret had run away. The girl fell on her knees and let out a whine. “Bwaaah! I wanted to catch her!”

With a sympathetic expression, Hikaru tapped Julia’s arm reassuringly. “Pichu pichu pichu…”

The girl stood back up. “Yeah. You’re right. There’s plenty more, so I can catch another one. Plus there’s lots of other pokemon around here. Hey!” She saw some buildings nearby. “That’s gotta be Cherrygrove. We made it!” She cheered.

“Pichu!”

Cherrygrove City was a calm, quaint, and lovely little town a little ways from New Bark Town. Although it was bigger than Julia’s hometown, it had a greater sense of community. Whenever she and her family would drive through it, there was no shortage of people talking to each other or pokemon and kids playing. It helped that the town was known for their cherry trees, which would blossom in pink white blooms during the spring, and they never ceased to be amazing.

On Julia’s left was a Pokemon Mart. A tall white building with a blue roof. For a brief moment, she thought about going inside. She thought she could get some potions in case Hikaru got hurt. But Kassia didn’t give her any money, so that was a no-go. With a shrug, she turned away and looked for the path leading to Mr. Pokemon’s house.

“This is Cherrygrove City, Hikaru. Have you been here before?”

Hikaru nodded.

“It sure is nice, isn’t it? But I like my home the best.”

Once she stepped on the dirt path, a round, blue and white mouse pokemon suddenly shot out of a little pond. “Awww! How cute!” Julia was quick to pull out her PokeDex once more.

“Marill marill!” The pokemon chirruped, contentedly sniffing a berry nearby.

 _“Marill, the aqua mouse pokemon,”_ The PokeDex explained, in the usual robotic voice. _“Marill's oil-filled tail acts much like a life preserver. If you see just its tail bobbing on the water's surface, it's a sure indication that this Pokémon is diving beneath the water to feed on aquatic plants.”_ Julia saw a female sign pop up on the PokeDex, indicating it was a girl.

“I’ve gotta catch this one!” Before Julia could pull out her PokeBall, Hikaru charged at the marill with a battle cry.

“Pichuuuu!” Sparks of electricity crackled from her cheeks before Hikaru unleashed a strong bolt of lightning. Before the marill could react, the lightning bolt shot down on it, sending pain all throughout its body. Julia covered her eyes. She wished Hikaru hadn’t done that. Then again, all her books said that in order to catch a pokemon, she had to weaken it with one of her own.

This was her chance. Hikaru knew it.

“Pichu pichuu!” Hikaru commanded, pointing to the fallen marill.

“Alright! I’ll catch it! Go, PokeBall!” With a single swing, the PokeBall flew into an arch before hitting the blue and white mouse. Marill turned into red light as it was absorbed inside the PokeBall, which then fell on the grass. The circle on the center flashed in a red light, and the PokeBall wiggled from side to side.

Julia crossed her fingers and prayed. _‘Please work...please work...please work...’_ Finally, a click sound echoed, and the flashing light on the PokeBall disappeared. Julia looked down at the PokeBall and picked it up. Already she could feel her whole body become enveloped with an overwhelming sense of joy.

“Wow! I...I...I did it! I caught my first pokemon all by myself!” Julia stood up and jumped around with the PokeBall in her hand, shouting in her loudest voice possible, “Woohoo!! Yaaaay!! I caught a marill!!”

“Pichu pichu!” Hikaru joined in on her joyous dance, hopping and twirling right along with her. Some trainers admittedly stopped to watch.

“What’s with her?”

“She’s weird.”

“Maybe she caught her first pokemon.”

“Come on. Let’s go.”

Julia didn’t notice, nor did she care. She was just too happy to have caught her first pokemon. “Come on out, Marill!” She opened her PokeBall, and out came the marill from before, who scratched one of her ears with a stubby hand. Julia kneeled to its level to make eye contact with it. “Hello! I’m Julia, and this is my friend Hikaru!”

“Pichu!”

“Marill marill?” ( _“What happened?”_ ) The marill tilted its head to one side with a confused expression, looking around in a daze.

“Sorry for scaring you like that,” Julia told her apologetically before giving Hikaru a stern glance. “You didn’t have to use Thundershock on her, y’know.”

“Pichu pichuuu!” Hikaru argued.

The blue mouse pokemon gave Hikaru a disapproving glare, looking angry at her for shocking her like that. Feeling the intensity of the glare, Hikaru backed away two steps to give the marill some space. The marill let out a sigh. “Anyway, would you like to be our friend?” Julia asked kindly, offering her hand out for the marill to sniff.

Marill didn’t approach her right off. The blue mouse raised an eyebrow, giving her new trainer a quizzical, confused look. “Marill marill…” ( _“I’m not sure…”_ ) The blue mouse wasn’t sure what to make of being caught by a human. She had seen glimpses of them before, but was always told to stay away from them. But something inside her told her that Julia didn’t seem like one who would hurt her.

“If you don’t want to, that’s fine,” Julia told her. Her parents always drilled it into her and Amara’s heads that when dealing with pokemon, you always had to take their feelings into consideration. Just because they can’t speak human language doesn’t mean they don’t have anything to say or don’t have feelings.

“Mar...marill…” ( _“Sure...I guess…”_ ) Keeping a guarded demeanor about her, the marill walked over to her new trainer and tapped her hand with her small blue one.

“Yay! We’re friends now!” Julia chirruped sweetly. “Oh! Would it be okay if I gave you a name?”

“Marill?” ( _“A name?”_ )

Julia nodded. “I always give my pokemon names,” Marill stopped to think. Perhaps having a name won’t be so bad. The marill never did like being confused for other marill. The blue mouse nodded reluctantly.

“Alright!” The girl clasped her small hands together, the cogs in her mind moving. “Since the PokeDex says you’re the aqua mouse pokemon...how about…” It came to her right away. “Aqua! How about that?”

Aqua...the marill liked the sound of that. It had a distinct, watery feel to it. “Marill!” (“Sure!”) Aqua replied, adopting her new nickname.

“Oh! That’s right! I can’t forget to go see Mr. Pokemon!” With that, they went further down the path. Julia decided against putting Aqua in her PokeBall right away. She figured it’d be nice to have a good walk with them and let them get used to her before keeping them in PokeBalls. In her mind, they deserved some fresh air and a chance for some quality time with her.

Hikaru crept closer to Aqua and whispered, “Sorry I shocked you like that.”

The aqua mouse backed away a little bit, not sure what to make of this pichu. The tiny mouse was smaller than she was, and despite her harmless appearance, her thundershock threw her for a loop. Aqua kept her guard up, hoping it wasn’t a trick. But some other part of her said that Hikaru and Julia seemed friendly enough. At the same time, however, she didn’t want to take any chances. 

“Marill marill,” ( _“It’s alright. I forgive you.”_ ) Aqua replied politely. Hikaru could hear the guarded tone in her voice. “I must ask, why is your fur so dark?” She asked. “Most pichu I’ve seen have light colored fur.”

All Hikaru could do was scratch her ear sheepishly. “I dunno. I was born this way,” Hikaru answered with a giggle.

“Can I ask why you’re with a human?” Aqua asked tersely. “Aren’t you afraid she might hurt you? Humans can be dangerous.”

“Julia’s not dangerous,” Hikaru replied without hesitation. “She saved me from some angry beedrill about a week ago,” This straightforward revelation made Aqua’s eyes light up with surprise. Humans could really do that? Aqua was sure they didn’t care about pokemon, mostly because everyone else told her so. “My friends used to say that humans were bad, too. But Julia’s been nice to me, so she’s not bad.”

Aqua couldn’t help but find that hard to believe. But in a way, she could sense that Julia didn’t seem like a bad human. Pokemon have a mysterious sixth sense that lets them know which humans are kind and which humans are cruel. But that didn’t mean some would open up to them right off. Aqua wanted to trust the feeling she got, but still kept herself guarded.

Julia kept her eyes on the road in front of her, with Hikaru and Aqua following close behind. She passed by a small house, noticed some trainers battling their pokemon rather passionately, and saw some bird pokemon fly to another tree. All of a sudden, she passed by one tree and saw a small green bug pokemon, eating some leaves. The pokemon was about as big as Hikaru, with a big pink antenna, big black eyes, and stubby yellow feet.

“A caterpie!” Julia pulled out her PokeDex a third time, holding it up to the caterpie.

 _“Caterpie, the worm pokemon. Caterpie have a voracious appetite. It can devour leaves bigger than its body right before your eyes. From its antenna, this Pokémon releases a terrifically strong odor, and their legs have special suction cups designed to stick to any surface.”_ Once again, a female symbol appeared on the PokeDex as it hovered over the caterpie.

“Caterpie can evolve into metapod and then butterfree,” Julia mused to herself, pulling out a PokeBall. “This one I have to catch!”

Once again, Hikaru took the initiative. This time, she ran toward the caterpie and threw herself at it, throwing it right off the tree. Before the caterpie could get up, Hikaru blew a soft kiss, and a pink heart floated toward the caterpie. Once it hit the caterpie, it began to wobble and lose its sense of direction. “Hey!” Julia exclaimed. “I told you not to attack any pokemon!”

“Pichu pichu chuuuu!” Hikaru argued, pointing to the caterpie.

“You have a point…” She gripped the PokeBall before throwing it. “You’re mine, caterpie!” Oddly enough, as the ball was thrown, the caterpie didn’t even attempt to move. It just stood blinking at the object coming its way. Like with Aqua, the ball hit the caterpie, turning it into red light. The PokeBall fell to the grass and wiggled, with the red light flashing. After a few seconds, the ball stopped, and the red light ceased.

“Yay!” Julia picked the PokeBall up and held it in the air. “I caught another pokemon!”

Two pokemon caught in one day. Julia couldn’t help but wonder if lady luck was smiling down on her. But regardless, she made yet another new friend, and she was too quick to let the caterpie out of its PokeBall. As soon as the caterpie met Julia’s eyes, all she did was tilt her head to one side, examining the trainer curiously. “Maaaaao,” ( _“Are you a human?”_ ) The little caterpillar asked in a sweet voice.

“I am. I’m Julia,” She pointed to Hikaru and Aqua. “And these are my friends Hikaru and Aqua,” She spoke in a soft, calm voice so as to not scare the little caterpillar. “Sorry we scared you.”

The caterpie barely reacted. She just continued to stare at them with her big, curious black eyes, like she wanted to understand them from top to bottom. Julia slowly extended her hand out. “I’d love it if we could be friends. If not, that’s okay, too,” She told her.

At first, the caterpie just stood there, continuing to stare at them. But something told her that Julia was not a human to be afraid of. Slowly, she crawled up to Julia’s hand, sniffing it with her big nose. Julia remained still as a mannequin, as she didn’t want to scare her new friend. Aqua and Hikaru remained still as well. 

Finally, the caterpie closed her eyes and gave what appeared to be a smile as it cooed, “Maaaao!” ( _“You seem nice! I like you!”_ ) Right then, the caterpie crawled up Julia’s arm and nuzzled her cheek, making her trainer giggle.

“Can I name you Papillon?”

The caterpie nodded affirmatively. “Mao!”

“Hello, Papillon! We’re friends from now on!”

Like with Aqua, Julia kept Papillon outside of her PokeBall, so all three of her new friends were right by her side. Papillon sat on her shoulder throughout the entire walk. They had to get to Mr. Pokemon’s house and get that egg. No more delays. Thankfully, Julia passed by a sign directing her to his house. Not only that, a brown and red house came within their vicinity, so they were getting close. Finally, they made it on his front porch. A white sign on his door read Mr. Pokemon. Shyly, Julia walked up to the door and knocked on it three times.

“Hello? Mr. Pokemon?” Julia called out.

The door opened, and a man dressed in a brown suit greeted the girl with a cheery smile. Julia had to back up a few steps because he came a little too close to her for comfort. The man’s face was a whirlpool of wrinkles, and underneath his nose was a fluffy grey mustache, with some streaks of hair lining his chin. Probably a small beard. But his beard was bigger the last time she saw him. She assumed he must have shaved it.

“Oh! Good morning, dear child!” Mr. Pokemon exclaimed in an old, crotchety voice that was filled to the brim with merry cheer. “Professor Elm called and told me you were coming! Come on inside, lassie! Come on in! Don’t be shy!” He left the door open for her to come inside.

Her body tensed up, and her hands flew to her ears. After all this, he still couldn’t understand the concept of an indoor voice. With a sigh, Julia and her pokemon went inside. She immediately noticed a glass container with a white egg inside of it. The white egg was about as large as Papillon, with red and blue markings dotting its hard surface. The faint smell of soft cookies wafted into her nostrils, but as much as she liked cookies, this was no time for eating.

“This is the egg, right?” Julia asked.

“Yes yes!” Mr. Pokemon placed a tray of fresh cookies on the table, right next to the egg. “Help yourself! My! What lovely pokemon you have!”

Julia kept staring down at the cookies to avert his gaze. “Th-Th-Th-Thanks…” On impulse, she grabbed a cookie and chomped it down. They were soft and warm, melting into her mouth, with the bolus bouncing around on her tongue before trailing down her throat. She always liked how chocolate chip cookies tasted. Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon grabbed some for themselves, scarfing them down and enjoying every minute of it. Once she finished, Julia picked up the container and held it in her hands.

“I know a couple who run a daycare center just outside Goldenrod City,” Mr. Pokemon began, weaving a strand of his mustache around his index finger. “They just found this egg out of nowhere and gave it to me.”

“You don’t say…”

“Is it true you became a trainer recently?”

“Yes. Last week,” Julia forced a smile, not once making eye contact. _‘Come on! I have to go take this back to Professor Elm!’_ She thought. She wished he’d let her go already.

Mr. Pokemon pulled out a small bag and poured the cookies inside, along with putting in some blue, pink, and red berries. He tied it up with a black bow and handed it to her. “These are for you. There’s berries inside in case your pokemon get hurt,” Mr. Pokemon said. Julia took the bag without question.

“Thank you. I’m...gonna go now…” With the egg and bag in hand, Julia left the house, her pokemon following close behind.

Once she walked a safe distance away, she let out a relieved sigh and slumped on a nearby stump. “Whew! I thought he’d never stop talking!”

“Marill?”

“Mao?”

“Sorry. I’m not exactly the best at...talking to people,” Julia explained. “Plus, he’s really loud,” She said with a hand over her mouth. But she had to admit, it was nice to him to give her the berries and cookies, even if it was for her pokemon’s sake, so it wasn’t as though she hated him. She just wished he’d stay out of her personal space and use an indoor voice sometimes.

“Mao mao maooo…” ( _“I kinda liked him.”_ )

Julia smiled at Papillon and stroke her head. “You like him, huh? That’s good.”

They weren’t in any rush, so the young trainer thought it’d be nice to take a break from all the walking. After all, she didn’t want those cookies to go to waste. She gave some cookies to her beloved pokemon and saved two for herself, leaving at least three left. There were two blue berries, two pink berries, and two red berries in the bag as well. Oran, pecha, and cheri berries. They were going to be very useful in the future. 

“Oh! I should call Professor Elm!” Julia rummaged through her pockets to pull out the PokeGear. She could let him know she got the egg without a hitch. She searched through the number list and found Professor Elm’s number. Boy, her mother sure loved to make sure she was prepared. She pressed the call button and held the phone up to her ear. It rang a few times, but no answer came.

“That’s odd. I wonder if he’s busy?”

“Marill?”

“I’ll call him a little later,” Julia tied the bag and stood up with the egg container in hand. “We’d better get back home. I’d love to show you two my room.”

“Marill mar!”

“Maoooo!”

Papillon was completely on board, while Aqua was still a little reluctant, but the aqua mouse could sense that the girl didn't have any malicious intent. Perhaps it'd be nice to see other places with her. The girl smiled as she walked down the path with a light heart. The morning sun shined in the sky, giving everything a distinct, warm glow, and wildflowers bloomed at every turn. Perhaps going out on her own wasn’t so bad after all. She wished she could do this more often. Maybe when she got home, she could talk it out with Kassia and Truman. After a while, she made it back to Cherrygrove. It was the same as usual, so the walk back should be perfectly fine.

Or so she thought.

***

Shards of broken glass scattered around the remains of a window in Professor Elm’s lab. The bespectacled professor himself laid on the floor face down, his glasses having bounced off of his face. A large, black boot came down on them, crushing the glass beneath her feet. The lens cracked as the boot smashed it deep into the floor. The mop headed man reached one hand out in an attempt to grab the culprit.

“No...why…” He croaked weakly, his voice trembling. His entire body was tense, like a pichu had electrocuted him. A tall silhouette loomed over him, holding a small, handheld taser gun in one hand, and a PokeBall in the other. “Don’t...take it away…”

“Shut up!” A woman’s voice boomed before the silhouette leaped out of the window.

Professor Elm struggled to get up. His legs felt like jello, and any time he moved, he felt as though he were going to fall over. But he had to do something. With a heavy grunt and shaky breaths, he crawled over to a red alarm button on the wall. Clutching to a chair, he used it to stand himself up. With a loud yelp, he bashed the button once, and a wailing sound echoed all throughout the lab. “HEEEELP!!” He shouted at the top of his voice. “Help!!”

A young woman burst through the room, her eyes widening at the sight of Professor Elm’s weak form. “Professor!” She ran to help him up. “What happened?!”

“Call the police!” Professor Elm choked out. “Call someone! Anyone!! The totodile...it’s been stolen!!”

Said silhouette stood in some bushes nearby, holding the PokeBall in her hand. The sirens wailed from inside the lab. With a grunt, she pushed her long ponytail out of her face. “You belong to me now. It’s about time I finally got what I deserve!” With that, she dashed away from the lab.

Finally, this was her chance to fulfill her dream. Now, nobody was going to take it away from her. She could do whatever she wanted and get away from the house she considered a prison.

***

Truman stood in front of the bathroom sink, his cheeks and chin caked with thick, white shaving cream. He held a deep red razor to his cheek, pushing the shaving cream away, hoping the excess hairs would come off. Soon after, Kassia popped her head in. “Truman? Have you deposited money in Amara’s bank account yet?”

“Yeah, I did. Last week,” Truman replied, examining his face closely. Some hairs had come off. “About one hundred, so that comes to…” He counted on his fingers. “About $10,724.”

“Jeez,” Kassia mused. “You sure do save a lot of money, don’t you?”

“Of course!” Truman put his razor down on the sink to make sure he didn’t scratch himself as he talked. “We have the mortgage to pay, the pokemon to feed, the girls’ college funds in case they need it, the bills, there’s a lot to do! You gotta be smart and thrifty when it comes to saving!”

Kassia found herself chuckling. She glanced over at Amara’s bedroom door. “I wonder how Amara’s doing?”

“Last I checked she seemed fine,” Truman looked deep into the mirror. Some hairs were still sticking out from underneath his nose. “I know it didn’t work much before, but try to talk to her, Kassie. Try to understand her. Maybe she just needs someone who understands how she feels.”

“I’ll try,” With this, Kassia left Truman to his shaving. She stopped in front of Amara’s door and knocked on it three times. “Amara? You in there? It’s me,” She announced. “Can I come in? I know you think Mom’s stupid and annoying. I just...want to talk. Just mother-daughter talk, that’s all,” She added. No response. When she knocked again, the door moved inward, leading Kassia into Amara’s room. It wasn’t closed all the way.

Immediately, a red flag shot up in her mind, but she tried to take her mind off it. The minute she stepped inside, she saw the entirety of Amara’s room. The walls were painted a pure white, with some walls covered with posters of shirtless men wearing jeans and who had tattoos on their bodies. Some frilly pillows sat on Amara’s disheveled bed, with others having fallen to the floor. The light purple comforter on Amara’s bed was folded halfway, facing the foot of the bed, indicating that it had been slept in. Kassia always grilled Amara about making her bed. Her white desk was covered with jewelry and cosmetics such as lipstick, bottles of eyeshadow, nail polish, hair scrunchies, etc. Other things lined the desk as well, such as jewelry holders, jewelry boxes, some books (both educational and recreational), a duffel bag full of clothes, etc. Some clothes such as tank tops and skinny jeans were scattered on the floor.

Only one important thing was completely missing: Amara. No Amara, anywhere.

“Amara?” Kassia walked into her daughter’s messy bedroom. Worry began as a small sprout, growing with every glance. Where was Amara? Was she in the house? A gentle breeze from her window made the mother’s gaze turn to a window. It was open all the way, with the transparent curtains floating about. With a gasp, Kassia ran to the window and looked down. Some grass beneath the window had been pressed down, like someone had laid down on it.

This told her all she needed to know. “Amara!!” Kassia screamed. No answer. “Amaraaaaa!!”

His wife’s screams made Truman put down his razor. He grabbed a towel, wiped the shaving cream off, and ran to the bedroom. “What’s wrong?”

“Amara’s gone!” Kassia yelped, her green eyes wide with a combination of fear, worry, and anguish. Truman knew that look anywhere. “She must have snuck out again!”

It had become a common occurrence lately. Amara would sometimes sneak out of the house or just leave without saying anything. But Amara never went out the window before. If she was willing to do this much...alarm bells were blaring. 

“I’ll call the police,” Truman suggested, keeping himself calm and collected. “You search the neighborhood and ask if anyone’s seen her, or go look for her. I’ll catch up with you.”

Without another word, Kassia ran to neighboring houses like her house was on fire. She banged on the doors, surprising her neighbors, asking them all the same question. “Have you seen Amara by any chance?”

“No I haven’t, Kassia.”

“What?! She ran away?! I’ll help you look for her!”

“I didn’t see her, but if I do, I’ll let you know right away.”

“Haven’t seen her. Sorry.”

“I’ll ask around. She couldn’t have gone too far.”

Soon, more people looked around the neighborhood, on foot or by car, searching for the missing girl. Kassia’s heart was suddenly plagued with worry and fear. What if something happened to her? What if she got caught up in the wrong crowd? What if she was lost? Hurt? Kidnapped? Just thinking about the awful possibilities made her feel as though she couldn’t breathe. Truman was outside on the porch with a phone held to his ear. “Hello. My daughter's gone missing and my wife and I can't find her anywhere. She's not in her room or anything--”

“Kassia!” One woman with blonde hair suddenly ran up to Kassia. “You’re not gonna believe what I heard! Professor Elm’s lab was robbed! I heard him say that a girl Amara’s age with brown hair stole a pokemon!”

Both parents froze, their eyes wide with shock. No. It just couldn’t be true. Could it…?

*** 

“Welcome to the Pokemon Center!” A pink haired nurse greeted Julia as she came in through the revolving doors, with all of her pokemon following close behind. The nurse was dressed in a soft pink dress with a white apron, cream colored stockings, and pink shoes. A white hat with a red cross mark on it cupped her curly pink hair. Two blissey walked around calmly, observing everything around them.

Julia put all of her pokemon in their PokeBalls and handed them to the nurse. “You’re Nurse Joy, right?”

“Yes I am,” She replied in a kind, pleasant voice.

“Can you heal my pokemon, please?”

“Certainly!” Nurse Joy put the PokeBalls on a tray before taking them away.

She had done her research. Julia had always known that Pokemon Centers were good places for trainers to go in case their pokemon had gotten hurt. Of course they would take their pokemon away for a short while. Still, Julia couldn’t help but feel as though she lost something important, like her security blanket. She wished she didn’t feel so anxious about this. They were still in there, and it wasn’t as though Nurse Joy was stealing or hurting her pokemon. She’d get them back in no time. 

_‘Calm down, Julia. They’re fine,’_ She told herself, sitting down on a chair, clutching the egg container. _‘You’re gonna have to get used to this some time. This is what they’re for.’_

“Nurse Joy!!” A young boy stormed through the revolving doors in a frenzy, holding an unconscious, injured rattata in his arms. His loud voice made Julia’s hands fly to her ears in fright. “You gotta help Rattata!!”

“Goodness, Joey!” The Nurse Joy exclaimed. “This is the third time this week you’ve come here. I know you’re excited about battling--”

“NO!” Julia stood up in alarm. The despair in the boy’s voice was unmistakable. Not only that, Julia noticed some fresh cuts on the boy’s arms, particularly one on his forehead that was bleeding onto his eyebrow. “Some weird girl just came out of nowhere and beat me and Rattata up!”

Hearing this made Nurse Joy come around the corner to take a closer look at their wounds. She gestured for a nearby blissey to come over and take a look. “My goodness! Blissey? Take Joey and Rattata in the back,” She told her.

“Blissey!” With that, the blissey escorted Joey and his rattata into another room. Another blissey came with a tray in its hands, holding three PokeBalls. Julia could tell they were her own PokeBalls. She put stickers on them to make sure they were theirs. She took her PokeBalls diligently and left the Pokemon Center.

That was when she saw someone she didn’t expect.

“Julia?!”

“A-A-Amara?!”

There was Amara, standing right in front of her. Her long hair was tied into its usual straight ponytail with a purple scrunchie. She was wearing a black tank top, very small, pale blue shorts that did a great job in showing off her legs, and tall brown boots. Her icy blue eyes fixated their gaze on her little sister, and in her left hand was a PokeBall. 

Julia’s mind was sent into a spiral of confusion, and all kinds of questions were running through her mind. What was Amara doing here? Shouldn’t she be at home? She was sure she was grounded for hanging out with a group of kids she wasn’t supposed to. Why did she have a PokeBall in her hand? Did Mom and Dad know she was gone?

“Wh...wh...what are you doing here?!” Julia blurted out.

“Totodile. Come on out,” Amara said in an icy voice, releasing her totodile from the PokeBall.

The small blue alligator materialized as he appeared. Blinking twice, he looked around to observe his surroundings, finding himself confused. Why was he outside? Wasn’t he supposed to be at the lab? Where did this random girl come from? Totodile couldn’t help but scratch his head with one claw, wondering what the heck was going on.

“Totototo…” The totodile warbled.

Julia clutched her PokeBalls tightly. All she could do was blurt out what came to mind. Even Hikaru seemed confused. “Why do you have a pokemon?! Mom said you can’t have any pokemon anymore! You know that, right?!”

“Shut up!” She pointed an index finger at her frightened sister before shouting, “Use Water Gun!”

“Dahhh?” The totodile whipped his large head around, looking at Amara with wide, confused eyes like he was asking why.

“Just do it, you wimp!” Amara roared. Totodile shivered, figuring that she was serious. Reluctantly, the totodile shot a blast of water right at Julia, sending her rolling on the ground soaking wet. Some bystanders gasped as they watched the totodile send the spout of water at her. Even Nurse Joy came out to observe the chaotic scene. As soon as the attack stopped, Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon all popped out of their PokeBalls.

“Chuu chuu?”

Letting out a small grunt, Julia got back on her feet. “I’m fine, Hikaru…” She let out some heavy pants before shouting, “What’s going on, Amara?! Tell me! Why are you doing this, and why’d you attack me?!” She stood in front of all of her pokemon like she was a knight protecting a princess. The three pokemon all looked at each other, wondering what was going on.

“Because I’m done babysitting you. Totodile! Use Bite!” She replied in an icy voice.

Obeying its trainer’s orders, again reluctantly, the blue crocodile charged at Julia with its big maw open wide for chomping. Once again, Hikaru took the initiative and let out a thundershock attack, sending a bolt of lightning right at the totodile. The jolt was strong enough to make the totodile fall on its rear. Even Aqua and Papillon went into battle stances.

“Marill!”

“Mao!!”

“Hey! What are you doing?!” The Nurse Joy ran over to Amara and pulled on her arm. “You can’t use your pokemon to attack people!”

“Shut up!” With a grunt, Amara used her arm to shove Nurse Joy to the ground. Two blissey managed to catch her before she could fall, preventing any potential injuries.

“Call the police, will ya?!” A man in a suit yelped. The woman next to him pulled out a phone.

“If that’s how you wanna play it then fine! Use Water Gun again!” Amara growled.

“Hikaru! Dodge it!” Julia blurted out. On cue, Hikaru evaded the attack. “Papillon! Use String Shot!” The little green bug shot a web of white silk all around the totodile, trapping it in place.

“Use Scratch and Bite to break free!” Amara commanded. Totodile used its teeth and claws to rip through the silk thread. Some of it did get on its tongue, and the totodile used its claws to wipe the silk off.

 _‘No! I can’t...I don’t want to battle! I don’t want to do this!’_ Julia thought. Her entire being was frozen with fear and confusion. Too many questions were running through her mind, the biggest of them being...why was Amara doing all of this?

“Marill!!”

A scream pulled Julia out of her mind, awakening her to a horrible sight. Totodile had its teeth digging into Aqua’s side. She had to do something. Her friend was hurting. This was no time for hesitating. “NO!! Aqua! Use Bubble on its face!!” On cue, Aqua unleashed a barrage of bubbles, sending them all right into the totodile’s face. The soapy bubbles stung its eyes, and it squeezed them shut to prevent further entry. Aqua used the opportunity to pull the totodile’s teeth out of her side and run free.

“You won’t beat me!” Amara roared.

“Papillon, use String Shot! Hikaru, use Thunder Wave!” Like before, Papillon spat out a long thread of white silk, wiggling around to make it weave all around Amara and her totodile, trapping them in place. With a piercing battle cry, Hikaru unleashed a small jolt of electricity, shooting it right at them. The jolt was strong enough to render the totodile unconscious, but Amara kept her scowl, staring right up at Julia with nothing but contempt. The electricity didn’t hit her, so she wasn’t paralyzed.

Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon all stood in between them, acting like bodyguards protecting their princess. Julia’s legs began to feel like jelly, but she needed answers. “Amara? What’s going on?”

Before anyone could react, Amara pulled out a Swiss Army knife and used it to cut through the web. Julia’s mouth fell open once more. Since when did she get a Swiss Army knife, and how? She was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice Amara glaring at her. Amara charged at her sister before throwing a fist straight into her face, sending her rolling on the ground. Aqua’s hands flew to her mouth, Papillon curled into a ball in fear, and Hikaru let out a hiss. Not even giving her time to react, Amara pinned Julia to the ground and punched her face three more times, the third time being strong enough to make blood flow from her nostrils.

“Why do you always have to get in my way?!” Amara spat, her saliva flying onto Julia’s face.

Her mind was swirling in a sea of confusion. The odd taste of liquid iron flowed into her mouth as she flew her arm upward in an attempt to fend off Amara. Too bad she was never physically strong, and despite flailing and kicking her legs, nothing she did worked. Some bystanders did try to pry her off, but Amara was too strong for them and managed to force them off with ease.

It was too much. The yelling, the screaming, the ground rubbing against her soaking wet clothes, the blood on her face, the fist making contact...she had to escape, but couldn’t. “GET OFF OF MEEEEEE!!” Julia yelled in her loudest voice possible.

“Chupi!” Hikaru jumped up and bit Amara straight on her hand, digging her teeth into her skin, making her yelp from the pain. That was enough to make Amara stop and release her. Aqua and Papillon stood in battle stances once more, giving her deathly glares, almost as if they were daring her to lay yet another hand on their trainer lest she face their wrath. Hikaru was quick to comfortingly lick the wounds on her face.

Her eyesight blurred. Her head was spinning. Finally, everything went black. The last thing she heard were police sirens wailing in the distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Julia: Pichu (Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Tail Whip Sweet Kiss), Marill (Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Caterpie (Calm Nature, Tackle, String Shot)**
> 
>  
> 
> **Amara: Totodile (Lonely Nature, Water Gun, Bite, Scratch, Growl)**

**Author's Note:**

> This is my most ambitious pet project ever, a Pokemon fan series that I've been writing for a while but never posted until now. Currently, there are 28 chapters plus bonus ones on my Fanfiction.net account, but I thought I'd post this here, too. Writing this has been very therapeutic for me, and I enjoy working it. I hope it can bring happiness to others as well. I have big plans for this fan fic and I plan to see them all through no matter what life throws at me. Enjoy!
> 
>  
> 
> **Julia: Pichu (Thundershock, Tail Whip, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss)**


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